Big building projects are hard, aren’t they? Managing an engineering project which requires research, planning, gathering and sourcing materials, construction, testing, re-testing, and more! Does that sound like the kind of thing an elementary school student would be particularly good at?… Don’t answer that!
However successful or unsuccessful you might think a kid would be when they are given a challenging task, the projects our grade eights here at WCA have been working on will simply blow you away. Just check these things out!
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics, what we call STEM, demands a specific skillset not often associated with teenagers. Patience? Yeah, right! Dedication? Give me a break! Teamwork!? You MUST be joking! Maybe these kids had something to prove…
Prior to March break, our dedicated grade eights were learning about Pascal’s law for enclosed fluids. The law essentially states that if pressure is applied at one point in an enclosed system, the pressure is instantaneously transferred throughout the system. This is the science behind hydraulic and pneumatic systems. Push this lever here, and that arm moves over there! That’s Pascal’s law!
Students were going to put this law to the test by researching, designing, and building their very own hydraulic projects! As I’m sure you can tell from looking at these things, some designs were extremely ambitious. Using cardboard as a primary building material, our intrepid engineers, working in groups of two or three, built some truly amazing things.
After weeks of hard work, construction was complete, and the showcase was ready. Younger students were delighted with the amazing creations, and inspired by the proud creators!
At the beginning of this project, I myself had no idea it would become one of the most successful building projects I’ve been involved with. All praise to God for imbuing these young minds with exceptional talent, passion, and joy!
